Opinion: Bring home a legend to lead Doncaster Rovers again

Peter Catt

After trawling through the list of prospective candidates former Free Press sports editor PETER CATT comes down firmly on the side of one man.

Long serving veteran James Coppinger has already come out in favour of appointing stand-in boss Rob Jones on a permanent basis.

Glynn Snodin (right) on his return to Rovers to work as assistant to brother Ian in 1998

But if the Stockton-born skipper is not to be promoted to the general, I would suggest the directors look no further than another Rovers legend – Glynn Snodin.

Snodin, currently assistant manager at Preston, made his league debut for the club aged 17 and went on to chalk up more than 300 league appearances before moving to the top flight with Sheffield Wednesday, and later played in Europe with Hearts.

He was a huge favourite with the fans during his playing days and again when he returned alongside brother Ian as the two men brought some much needed credibility and respectability back to the club following the dark days under Ken Richardson.

Many still feel the brothers were not given enough time to restore the club’s fortunes after putting a squad together from scratch on an initial budget which hardly included a shoestring in the Conference before John Ryan took over from Westferry impatient for success.

It was left to others to lift Rovers back into the league and embark on a glory trail – but it was the Snodins who laid the foundations.

Glynn had already worked as a chief scout and youth manager before returning to Belle Vue and went on to earn a reputation as an outstanding coach, helping Southampton reach the Championship promotion play-offs and working with a young Gareth Bale in 2007.

He was first team coach at Charlton and West Ham under Alan Curbishley and assistant manager of Northern Ireland before winning promotion with Leeds United, Huddersfield and Preston in the same role with Simon Grayson.

Some may say he has never held the main job, but the stresses and strains of top level management these days means it is very much a shared role.

And when he was handed the reins as manager of the reserves at Charlton, they surprised everyone by winning the Premier League Southern reserve team title two seasons in a row ahead of Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Snodin has contacts the length and breadth of the country and has also worked in Scotland and with the Northern Ireland team.

He more than fits the bill when it comes to the club’s advert criteria and has the added advantage of still living in the area.

When he was at the club before, nothing was too much trouble when it came to working with supporters, sponsors and becoming involved with the local community.

His love of the club that gave him a start in the game is well known and if he was appointed there is no doubt the fans would get behind him as they welcomed home one of their favourite sons.